“Renewables, electric transport and industry all require a massive new injection of base metals. But mining the metals-whether on land or on the seabed-is fundamentally a destructive and energy-intensive process. To make good decisions, we need to think through different pathways across different spatial and temporal time scales.

In response to the report, Canadian mining company DeepGreen said: “We cannot afford to simplify complex and controversial issues. “The deep sea is the largest ecosystem on the planet and home to unique creatures that we barely understand. Unless we act now to protect them, deep-sea mining could have devastating consequences for marine life and humankind. Greenpeace ocean campaigner Louisa Casson said: “The health of our oceans is closely linked to our own survival. On 4 July 2019, Greenpeace published the report In Deep Water: The Emerging Threat Of Deep Sea Mining, which argued that deep-sea drilling could cause “severe and potentially irreversible damage” to the oceans and marine life. There have been a number of debates around the potential environmental damage of deep-sea mining however, as a growing number of companies explore the commercial viability of deep-sea operations.

With new technological developments, the demand for these metals is rising, giving rise to hope that the deep-sea may provide supplies. The deep-sea contains more rare earth metals, nickel and cobalt than all land reserves combined. Introducing the Excellence Awards & Rankings 2022.Non-Metallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying.

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